Canadian women’s hockey pioneer Angela James has earned induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame, becoming one of the first two women to be enshrined with the greats of the game.

James and American hockey legend Cammi Granato became the first two women to be elected to the Hall when the 2010 inductees were announced Tuesday. In addition, three-time Team Canada member Dino Ciccarelli and the late Daryl ‘Doc’ Seaman, a long-time supporter of Hockey Canada, were also elected.

One of the pioneers of women’s hockey, both in Canada and on the international stage, James is a name synonymous with the female game. A four-time IIHF World Women’s Championship gold medalist, her 11 goals in 1990 is still a single-tournament Canadian record.

“Angela was one of the women that brought early recognition to our sport, and we congratulate her on her historic induction,” said Melody Davidson. “She was a pioneer 25 years ago when the women’s game was just beginning to grow, and she is a pioneer today as one of the first women to earn induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame.”

James was just as successful on the national stage as she was in international hockey, winning more than a dozen medals and eight Most Valuable Player awards at Canadian national women’s championships during her decorated career, and eight scoring titles and six MVP awards in the Central Ontario Women’s Hockey League, where she was a numerous-time league and provincial champion.

Ciccarelli, who scored 608 goals in a 1,232-game NHL career, first represented Canada on the international stage at the 1980 IIHF World Junior Championship in Finland, leading Canada in scoring, and later played at a pair of IIHF World Championships, winning bronze in 1982 in Finland and finishing fourth in 1987 in Austria.

Seaman, one of the original owners of the Calgary Flames, was a founding member of Flames Project 75, an oil and gas legacy that has contributed more than $5 million to minor hockey development initiatives in Canada as well as other charities in Alberta. In 2009 the Project 75 Group became officially known as the Seaman Hotchkiss Foundation as it continues to support grassroots initiatives across Canada.

Seaman died in January 2009 at age 86.

James, Granato, Ciccarelli and Seaman, along with longtime NHL executive Jimmy Devellano, will be officially inducted during ceremonies at the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 8. For more information on the induction weekend, please contact Sarah Talbot with the Hockey Hall of Fame at (416) 933-8237 or at [email protected], or CLICK HERE.

ANGELA JAMES INTERNATIONAL STATS